For Russia’s journalists, often in peril, small ripples of change

Russia has become sadly famous for the fate
of its journalists who are best known as the victims of violent attacks or
hapless observers sidelined by censorship. Yet some journalists suggest that
since President Dmitry Medvedev was elected to the office of president, the
situation appears to be improving.

Journalism can prove to be dangerous and
difficult work, especially in Russia. Political pluralism remains academic and
has never really been in fashion, and inquisitive reporters and other
journalists who push back against the official line imposed by authorities are
the frequent victims of verbal or physical intimidation, censorship or lawsuits
in court. Some even pay with their lives for having tried to shed light on
murky areas, for telling “secrets” or unravelling “mysteries.”

There are emblematic cases. Anna
Politkovskaya was an investigative journalist for the independent Novaya Gazeta journalist when she was
gunned down in 2006 in
Moscow. Her murder remains unsolved; her colleagues say her penchant for
focusing her talents on the situation in Chechnya and high-level corruption in
the Kremlin made her a target. Five
years after the murder, Russian authorities detained a new suspect in the case
last month, Rustam Makhmudov, in Chechnya.
Two of Makhmudov’s brothers were acquitted of the murder in 2009.

More recently, in November 2010, Kommersant’s special correspondent and
blogger Oleg Kashin suffered a fractured skull after being beaten with iron
bars. The attack was later published on the internet. Kashin had written about
nationalism and the ideology of the Pro-Putin youth movement, Nashi, among
other subjects. Kashin was recently sued for defamation when he said that he
suspected Vasily Yakimenko, head of the Nashi youth movement, was involved in
the attack. A few weeks ago, the
district court found for Kashin in the case.

Many journalists have lost their lives
because of their profession. The Glasnost Defense Foundation, an NGO that
defends freedom of expression, documented 322 murders of Russian journalists between 1993 and 2009, as
well as another 11 in
2010. Since the beginning of 2011, there have been 39 attacks against
journalists. If these extreme cases weren’t enough, the day-to-day work of
journalists is largely hindered by the general lack openness of Russia’s public
system, the refusal of officials to work with the media in a transparent way
and the hostility of law enforcement.

Still, some studies show an improvement in
the situation. Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the president's council on human
rights, said as much during a conference of the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vilnius in early June. In his presentation,
Fedotov showed that over the last three years, journalist safety has improved
to the point where, according to his research, not one was killed between 2008
and 2010.

In addition, authorities are increasingly
likely to cooperate with the media. “Progress is very slow but appreciable.
Investigations on murdered journalists are moving ahead, the killers of
Baburova and Markelov (a journalist with Novaya
Gazeta and a human rights lawyer, respectively, both killed in broad
daylight in Moscow in 2009) were convicted,” Fedotov noted, although he
admitted that there is much left to do before journalists are truly protected.

Not everyone in the profession agrees that
change has already occurred. “I have not seen any significant change,” said
Ilya Barabanov, editor in chief of the independent magazine The New Times, which has been critical
of authorities. Since 2007, Natalia Morar, the magazine’s investigative
reporter covering corruption within the Kremlin, has been denied entry to
Russia “Our job is intimately tied to the level of corruption with Russia’s
bureaucratic system, the lack of transparency, and we are powerless in the face
of institutions that do not respect our rights,” Barabanov explained.

“In the case of individual safety, the
situation is alarming,” said Nadezhda Prussenkova, who writes for Novaya Gazeta. “Journalists are
mistreated by law enforcement in the same way that demonstrations are
forbidden, even though they are there to work.

Official cooperation has improved

“On the other hand, when it comes to cooperation
with bureaucrats, it’s a bit better,” she added. The day after he was elected
in 2008, President Dmitri Medvedev gave an interview to Novaya Gazeta, which relishes its role as a relentless critic of
official abuses of power. “Officials have simply begun to respect certain laws
relating to the media, and their press services to function more or less
correctly,” Prussenkova explained.

She is not the only one to note this change
in attitude towards journalists since Medvedev came to office. “The president
immediately announced that freedom was worth more than a lack of freedom, and
today, progress in safety for journalists also depends on the elections of
2012. If the country chooses a man who defends democracy, the situation will
improve,” Fedotov remarked.

Alexei Simonov, the president of the Glasnost
Defense Foundation, said he believes there is no significance to statistics
showing fewer attacks against journalists. But he does believe Russia is
experiencing a critical moment of openness: “A foothold has been created by
electoral uncertainty; journalists have more freedom in the general disorder.
But as soon as the duo has made its choice and the future is clearer, the
screws will be tightened once again and journalists trampled upon,” he said.

Medvedev’s statements in support of freedom
and democracy have hardly removed the dangers faced by journalists and the
limited freedom of expression in Russia. Of course the president has said he
intends to decriminalize slander, currently an offense punishable by prison
time. But there remains the law on extremism, also punishable by law, which
“comes into force as soon as you vehemently express an opinion that is
different than that of the leadership,” Simonov said.

Despite these small ripples of change, Russia
found itself ranked 140th for freedom of the press in 2010 by
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), falling behind countries such as Egypt and
Ethiopia, revealing there is still much work to be done. Said the RWB annual
report: “The system remains as tightly controlled as ever, and impunity reigns
unchallenged in cases of violence against journalists.”